Essential Qualities of Content and Language Integrated Learning Teacher Identity in a Science Classroom: A Teacher-Researcher Perspective

• In Event: Equipping Teachers With Educational Responsibility Awareness for a Heteroglossic Approach to Content and Language Integrated Learning

Abstract

Objectives
While the term ‘teacher identity’ has been loosely used by researchers, there seems to be consensus (Calderhead, 1987; Weber & Mitchell, 1996) that the components of teacher identity may be the images, experiences, and expectations that teachers have had and continue to have about teaching. While carefully planned a CLIL curriculum, it is scarce to discover CLIL teachers in Hong Kong. The term 'CLIL teachers' refers to 'content-aware' language teachers if they were trained as language specialists, or 'language-aware' content teachers if they were trained as subject specialists (Lin, 2016). CLIL teacher identity is quite different from subject teacher identities as CLIL teachers bear a dual responsibility as both content and language teachers (He & Lin, 2018; Morton, 2016). CLIL teachers are not only responsible for enabling their students to grasp the target content knowledge, but also for helping them to communicate such content knowledge in the subject-specific language in an L2. (Lo, 2020). While CLIL teacher has an indispensable role in the educational context in Hong Kong, many teachers are unaware of this identity. Therefore, this study addresses this research gap by investigating the essential elements of CLIL teacher identity.

Theoretical framework
The study employs the science teacher identity construct suggested by Avraamidou (2016) to analyse teachers’ multidimensional nature of science teacher identity including social-cultural context, prior teaching experiences, life histories and new challenges ahead to construct a more comprehensive picture of a CLIL teacher identity in science. Other than that, the language perspective of the CLIL teacher identity is also investigated by using the same model. Combining the two models together, it will be the model of CLIL teacher identity`.

Methods and data sources
The study adopts an autoethnographic research design. The teacher-researcher is regarded as a single case and all his chemistry lessons in Grade 10 will be examined as the data source. Multiple data collection methods including video-taped lesson observation, field notes and interview with students are used to gather rich data to triangulate the qualities which is useful in establishing the CLIL teacher identity.

Results
Preliminary studies revealed that the former university pre-service teaching training in Science specialism and further studies in both Science and Language Across the Curriculum at postgraduate levels of the teacher-researcher may provide better access to CLIL knowledge and language awareness for CLIL teacher identity trajectorial development. However, teaching experience shapes a lot in modifying CLIL lessons to cater to learners’ diversity. Regardless of the diversity of students, high awareness of students’ needs and the pedagogical knowledge in content and language remains one of the essential elements of CLIL identity.

Significance of the study
Due to the increasing popularity of bilingualism education in the ESL/EFL countries, it is vital to equip CLIL teachers with essential qualities for CLIL teaching. On the other hand, this paper can also provide in-service teachers insights for enhancing CLIL teacher competence through developing stronger CLIL teacher identity in terms of awareness of students’ needs and the pedagogical knowledge.

Author

• Michael Tsang Kai Yip